Last week, many Americans observed Veterans Day or, if you prefer, Armistice Day – the anniversary of the World War I truce of Nov. 11, 1918.

I'd like to think that the majority of freedom-loving Americans did, indeed, pause for a moment or two to reflect on the sacrifices of veterans – past and present.

One of the things that I've noticed over the years is that many politicians – particularly those on the national level – often reference Veterans Day in their November news releases and newspaper columns.

That's all well and good, to be sure.

I've also noticed that, typically, more politicians – on all levels – show up for Memorial Day events than for Veterans Day events. Think about it. Memorial Day observances are before election day. Veterans Day observances are after election day. (Draw your own conclusions.)

And, yes, veterans do notice.

Something all of us should notice is this: Why are the U.S. Armed Forces losing its top leaders at the rate of one every nine days for the past four and a half years?

J.D. Gordon is a retired Navy commander and former Pentagon spokesman who served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2005-09.

On Nov. 12 – the day after Veterans Day, he asked in The Washington Times (see: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/12/gordon-transforming-the-us-military/print/):

"What in the world is happening to senior military officers under the Obama administration? It seems that every week since President Obama took office in 2009, we've been hearing that another top leader has been summarily fired, despite his decades of loyal service and valuable experience in protecting the nation."

Gordon clarifies that "it's actually closer to one every 8.8 days, a staggering 200 military brass shown the door in less than five years."

Last week, I shared an article by F. Michael Maloof (http://www.wnd.com/author/mmaloof/) in World Net Daily (yes, I know) with the office of Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup, a veteran and officer in his own right. My suggestion was that if this story is, in fact, accurate, then perhaps it would be a good topic for one of the congressman's next columns.

Shortly thereafter, I received copies of two articles from Investor's Business Daily (www.ibdeditorials.com) from a local business owner on this same topic.

Quite frankly, if Mr. Maloof's story is even half accurate, all members of Congress ought to be alarmed.

In a story entitled "Purge Surge: Obama fires another commander," he writes: "After multiple top generals described to WND what they regard as a full-scale purge of the U.S. military by the Obama administration, the commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan was summarily relieved of duty and his civilian deputy reassigned, pending a 'misconduct' investigation. Nine generals and flag officers have been relieved of duty under Obama just this year – widely viewed as an extraordinary number – and several sources put the total number of senior officers purged during the five years of the Obama administration as close to 200."

If true, reasonable Americans might ask why.

If true, reasonable Americans also might demand that their representatives in Congress ask why.

According to Mr. Maloof, "Prominent retired generals – ranging from Army Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely, to Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, a founder of the Armyʼs elite Delta Force, to Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Patrick Henry Brady – have all gone on the record characterizing Obamaʼs actions as nothing less than an all-out attack on Americaʼs armed forces."

Maloof quotes retired Navy Capt. Joseph John, who said: “The U.S. Armed Forces have been under relentless attack by the occupant of the Oval Office for five years.”

"A Naval Academy graduate, John had three tours of duty in Vietnam, served as an al-Qaida expert for the FBI, and was a commanding officer with SEALs embedded on special operations. He was awarded the Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal, five Meritorious Service Medals and 22 medals and unit citations for combat operations in Vietnam, Philippines, Desert Storm and on anti-terrorist operations." Today, John is chairman of Combat Veterans For Congress PAC.

"The Combat Veterans For Congress Political Action Committee is dedicated to supporting the election of fiscally conservative Combat Veterans For Congress. We seek Combat Veterans For Congress who believe in limited government, will rein in the out-of-control spending of Congress, are committed to preserving and defending the U.S. Constitution, and will support the independence and freedom of the individual as outlined in the Bill of Rights. We support Combat Veterans For Congress who are dedicated to promoting The Free Enterprise System creating the greatest economic engine in the history of mankind, provide for a strong national defense, and will endorse the teaching of U.S. history and the Founding Fathers’ core values in educational institutions."

Knowing the liberal's knee-jerk reactionary responses as I do, I will suspect that it won't be too long before someone points out that this website was established by Barry Goldwater or George Bush. Maybe it was. Except that one of them's just a little bit dead and the other has had the class and integrity to refrain from public criticism of the present commander in chief who seems to enjoy dismissing the nation's most senior military officers.

One last thing for all those who profess to champion the causes and efforts of America's veterans, the Combat Veterans For Congress Political Action Committee stated the following on Veterans Day:

"The military is one of the few remaining institutions producing the caliber of men and women needed to restore this nation to the greatness that our Founding Fathers envisioned. A veteran is a patriot who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount up to and including his life. Many military personnel gave the last full measure of devotion in defense of the Republic. We honor them and all veterans today and every day."

Indeed.

And thank you.

Rory Ryan is Senior Editor, North American Desk, at Paperitalo Publications and the owner of The Highland County Press in Hillsboro, Ohio. He can be reached by email at rory.ryan@taii.com or roryeryan@gmail.com.